Dec 14 Why I Became a Trump Supporter

In support of Donald Trump

Soy Mei - COLUMNIST

No matter what you say about my character, whether you say I’m “xenophobic, sexist, homophobic," it is not going to faze me because I know that I am none of these things, and I know that I am not supporting them either. And what I realized about this current debacle between the Trump supporters and the anti-Trump people is that we are all human, just with dissenting views.

Throughout the US election campaign, I had not paid much attention to the candidates at all, I didn’t even watch one debate. My information was that which I saw on social media, and there were seemingly ridiculous things associated with Trump, namely, memes about the building of a wall, Trump’s wife, Melania’s swindled speech, Trump’s video where he said the famous words, “grab them by the pussy,” and videos of Seth Myers making fun of Trump. A combination of these media displays lead me to believe that Trump was not a serious candidate. However, on the other side, I have encountered people with leanings towards Trump. I even predicted before that election that Hillary, the Democratic Party candidate, was going to win, simply judging from Facebook posts shared by my friends on Facebook.

I was watching the election results come out. On a night that will be difficult to forget, to my and many others’ surprise, Trump was going to be the President of the United States. I could not understand it--all I had been seeing had been indications of how ridiculous Donald Trump has been. Were people just attracted to his charisma as a candidate, was he really as racist as people claim, how can Americans vote for someone who had a leaked video of him saying “grab them by the pussy” and still win? I mean if any celebrity said that kind of thing, he/she would be shunned immediately. Those are all questions that I asked myself. That was when I decided to do more research on why people voted for Trump.

One of the things that I learned was that the reason that Trump said that he wanted to build a wall was because he wanted stop the inward flow of illegal immigrants, who are competing with Americans for jobs and are being paid for less. As well, these people have not been vetted, and that could pose security issues. Donald Trump is not proposing to keep illegal Mexican immigrants out of the country because he hates Mexicans, he is proposing to do so to reinforce the law, and in turn help strengthen the economy. I don’t see how that is xenophobic, as there was no indication that he wanted to do it out of prejudice.

And with increasing number of Americans living in poverty under president Barack Obama, the electoral college served its purpose, which is to not to let the more well-off states drown out the voices of those in the rural areas who desperately need change. You can imagine how America having its first female president is the least of these people’s concerns.

Another controversial policy that Trump proposed was a temporary ban on Muslim immigration until he comes up with a proper vetting system. And that is in response to the threat that Americans feel that ISIS poses. There have been several instances where America has been a target for radical Islamic terrorism, such as 9/11 and the Orlando club shooting, and you can imagine how Americans may be worried about their safety in the wake of the Paris attack that happened just over a year ago. But what I believe was that many Americans were disappointed with was the refusal of Obama and Hillary Clinton to even mention the term, “radical Islamic terrorism” for the sake of political correctness, and therefore fail to address the issue when many Americans, Muslims included, believe that Islamic extremists are a legitimate threat to their safety.

Perhaps what attracted me most to Trump was his bluntness in addressing problems. I saw what many Americans saw in Trump, which is a successful businessman who tells things like it is. And I think people realized that making comments privately and jokingly with friends does not make you a misogynist. While I do not agree with Trump in many regards, such as environmental issues and gun laws, I support Trump, because I believe that he is truly what America wanted and voted for. And I believe that he will unite all Americans and make America great again, as he says. And most of all I support Trump because I support and respect America’s decision.

I understand that many people have indicated that they feel scared with Trump as president, but really there is little basis for that fear. Your rights will not be revoked. And if that ever happens, know that people in America and from all over the world, including me, will be fighting for you. Trump is not the reincarnation of Hitler. And whether or not you agree with or support him simply depends on your political orientation. And finally, no matter who you are rooting for I encourage you, the reader, to surround yourself with people with differing opinions, and talk with someone you may not agree with and perhaps it will change your impression of them.

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